the internet of useless things (and how to avoid it)
TRANSCRIPT
INTERNET OF USELESS THINGS
AND HOW TO AVOID IT THE
@brillthings
MARK BRILL I’ve been working with digital channels for over 21 years. I help brands and advertising agencies developing strategies for innovation (and general brand stuff). When I’m not doing that, I’m a Senior Lecturer in Future Media at BCU. You can follow me on Twitter (@brillthings) or feel free to visit my blog, brandsandinnovation.com
> What is the IoT? > Understanding the landscape > Connecting your channels/devices > Developing your service layer > Focussing on real problems
WHAT SHOULD GO IN TO AN IoT STRATEGY?
UNDERSTANDING THE IoT
IoT STRATEGY #1
From thermostats to smart fridges and roboDc vacuum cleaners
THE TERM IOT WAS FIRST TOUTED BY KEVIN ASHTON, IN 1999. It’s more than just machine to machine communicaDons. It’s about ecosystems of objects that form relevant connecDons to people and other objects. In the last few years big corporaDons such as Cisco or IBM have picked up on the IoT term (just as MicrosoW jumped on the Internet). However, regardless of who is trying to ‘own’ the name, it’s a useful term to describe the world of connected and wearable devices that’s emerging.
SMART HOMES Including smartwatches, smart glasses, smart fabrics. We even have smart headbands and caps WEARABLES
Driven by roboDcs and AI, the IoT is already having a massive impact on industry INDUSTRY
Google are not the only ones building self-‐driving cars. We also have shipping & of course there are the drones TRANSPORT
It’s not just Oculus RiW, many new displays and interaDons will be appearing, including gesture control and hapDc interfaces
DISPLAYS Connected health is already here, thanks to companies such as Withings and Scanadu, but it is an area for massive growth
HEALTH
WHAT IS THE INTERNET OF THINGS?
1980s Casio TV
Sound responsive T-‐shirt
Training Heart Rate Monitor (who needs a Fitbit?)
GPS
Bluetooth Headset (popular with bouncers and taxi drivers)
TV Hat (not a computer, but it’s
funny)
WE’VE HAD CONNECTED THINGS FOR YEARS …
… THE DIFFERENCE IS THIS
CONNECTED OBJECTS AND WEARABLE COMPUTING HAS BEEN AROUND FOR A WHILE. The principles are not so new but the rise of cheap compuDng has allowed our devices to be come more communicaDve.
Why all the hype about the IoT? The real change is that we have powerful pocket computers (smartphones) that can connect all this stuff in a more meaningful way.
IT’S NOT JUST RAW COMPUTING POWER EITHER
RAPID PROTOTYPING CHEAP SENSORS
LOW COST SCREENS CROWD FUNDING
THE IoT IS ALSO BEING DRIVEN BY sensors, new forms of rapid development (yup, 3D prinDng) not to menDon new crowd sourcing and funding.
THIS IS A SIMPLE SOLUTION FROM THE IoT ACCADEMY. It uses sensors in child buggies to monitor the air quality in ciDes. By crowd sourcing the data, it can idenDfy areas with higher levels of poluDon such as parDculates or Nitrogen Dioxide. GPS tracking sensors and a connecDon to smartphones would upload the data to an app. It allows both individuals to avoid areas of poor quality air and also provide data to local authoriDes to manage the problem. [hcp://iotacademy.org/#/buggyair]
EXAMPLE: USING SENSORS BUGGY AIR
THE CHALLENGE
A WORLD OF USELESS OBJECTS? 50% OF FITNESS TRACKERS ARE NOT USED
50% OF FITNESS BANDS ARE NO LONGER USED*. These are not central computing devices, so there’s a risk that even the Apple Watch will only been worn for the first few months. I compare this to the sandwich toaster. How many people have one that they used for a while then put it in a cupboard and forgot about it? That could be the future for many IoT devices. [http://brandsandinnovation.com/2015/03/27/are-smartwatches-the-new-sandwich-toaster/] [*http://www.techrepublic.com/article/wearables-have-a-dirty-little-secret-most-people-lose-interest/ https://wtvox.com/2015/04/report-smartwatch-ownership-rises-at-a-quick-pace/]
A SOLUTION LOOKING FOR A
BUT THE INTERNET FRIDGE IS TYPICAL OF WHERE THE IoT IS GOING WRONG. What problems does it actually solve? I have an iPad for recipes and knowing how much milk I have is not really a life-‐changing essenDal uDlity.
A PROBLEM?
http://fuckyeahinternetfridge.tumblr.com/
UNDERSTAND THE IoT LANDSAPE
IoT STRATEGY #2
Larry Downs’ The Laws of Disruption Change
Time
Technology
Government Business Society
Moore’s Law (technically not a law, but a guide), suggests that COMPUTING POWER grows exponenDally. The problem is that humans find it hard to grasp the concept of exponenDal. The technology grows faster that society, even faster than business and much much faster than governments. How do we close that gap? Downs talked about ‘The Killer App’, but the thing that allows society and business to manage technological change is INNOVATION (more on that later). [Downes L., Harnessing the New Forces that Govern Life and Business in the Digital Age, 2009]
TECH IS MOVING FASTER THAN PEOPLE
AND THERE’S
ALOT OF HYPE It’s important to remember that there’s a lot of hype around this stuff. Don’t be scared by people saying the IoT, Big Data, wearables or AI are ‘the next big thing’. They probably have no idea really.
GARTNER HYPE CYCLE: http://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2819918
BUT NO ONE KNOWS HOW BIG THE IoT WILL BE
HOW BIG? PredicDons suggest anywhere from 20bn-‐100bn connected objects. Two things are certain – there’s going to be many connected things and no one knows how many things there will be.
http://www.ironpaper.com/webintel/articles/internet-things-market-statistics-2015/#.VTEavZTF9kB
Bill Buxton’s Long Nose of Innovation REAL INNOVATION TAKES TIME
INNOVATION IS A PROCESS. Bill Buxton from MicrosoW talked about THE LONG NOSE OF INNOVATION. Here’s the point … it’s like the disrupDon curve. InnovaDon takes Dme. It requires development, tesDng and honing. There isn’t a light bulb moment.
Take the mouse (the computer mouse, that is). It was first invented in the 1960s by Douglas Engelbart at SRI. Xerox then got hold of the concept and worked on it at PARC. Then Apple got their mits on it in the 80s, and not long aWer than, created the Mac. Then it got tracDon and everything had a mouse.
[hcp://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2008-‐01-‐02/the-‐long-‐nose-‐of-‐innovaDonbusinessweek-‐business-‐news-‐stock-‐market-‐and-‐financial-‐advice]
HERE’S A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THE LONG NOSE OF INNOVATION ‘APPLE DIDN’T INVENT ANYTHING’. Puong aside the 1000s of patents that they have, Apple don’t actually invent new things. The iPhone is a great example of how the company pulled many exisDng innovaDons together -‐ mobile compuDng, accelerometers and touch screens. Nokia were playing with touch screens over a decade earlier but the innovaDon never took off. Before the iPhone, we sDll had bucons on phones. Blackberry had them. So did the Google G1. Then Apple showed how it could be done by delivering it in one well-‐designed package. Try finding a smartphone with bucons these days.
ANYONE CAN BUILD IoT DEVICES
Otto Pet Systems: fitness bands for cats and dogs
THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES OF HOW START-‐UPS HAVE BUILT DEVICES, FROM PEBBLE SMARTWATCHES TO OCULUS RIFT. This example shows how simple it is. The fitness band for pets came from a problem – many dogs and cats are overweight because they are fed too much. By monitoring them against their size and breed, the fitness band can deliver the right feeding programme via an app. It was developed by sourcing the accelerometer etc from China, 3D prinDng a case and then puong the concept on Indiegogo. The proposal won enough money to take it to prototype stage and as a demonstraDon to VCs of the product’s viability.
WITH THE PROLIFERATION OF DEVICES, INDIVIDUALS WILL HAVE THEIR OWN PERSONAL TECHNOLOGY ECOSYSTEM. It means that we can understand the audience based on their unique set of devices. For example, Nest owners might be young families with environmental concerns, Oculus RiW users could be gamers, those using smart glasses are likely to be in technical roles. [These are just examples and not real personas]. By mapping out these ecosystems we can understand each users needs and aspiraDons.
BUSINESSES NEED TO UNDERSTAND THE USER
CONNECT CHANNELS/DEVICES
IoT STRATEGY #3
THE TWETTLE A TWEETING KETTLE HELLO CUBE
THE TWEETING SCULPTURE
THE PIANO THAT TWEETS CAT SELFIE
MACHINE
WHY TWITTER? Since the earliest days of the channel, innovators have seen the potenDal of connecDng objects to 140 character message. It is a simple way to create engagement The Twecle concept, for example was developed in 2010 There are simple APIs that let the machines broadcast themselves and it anyone, anywhere can respond. It takes objects beyond the confines of their physical space into another dimension.
A good example of art, meets engagement. Hellicar and Lewis bult this sculpture for the Turbine Hall in The Tate Modern. hcp://www.thehellocube.com/
A silly idea with a serious intent. Cats take their own picture which is Tweeted on a #catselfie tag. It’s a fun way to show cats aviailable for adopDon.
This was a concept from a few years ago. Pointless? A licle, but the idea was to tell a whole office that it had
boiled, thus saving Dme and energy
An interesDng art project. You make and send
messages on Twicer by playing the piano! hcps://vimeo.com/73105181
TWITTER CONNECTS THE IoT
PERSONALITY ALSO CREATES ENGAGEMENT BRITISH developer TOM COATES is based in the US and has created a TweaDng house @houseofcoates . Things such as lights, plants and rooms will Tweet depending on what happens. People even have conversaDons with the house. Weird? Not really. As humans we like to anthropomorphize things. Robots are increasingly used by the military. The soldiers can get so acached to them that they’ll even risk their lives for them. THE IoT NEEDS A PERSONALITY!
AN OS FOR
THE IoT
ESSENTIALLY THE IoT IS ABOUT CONNECTIONS. One area that is likely to become a bacle ground are IoT operaDng systems. Unlike mobile, where a proprietary OS is straight forward, the job of an IoT OS is to connect a fragmented landscape.
Google’s Brillo is one of the major challengers, but IoT. but there are big players including Samsung, MicrosoW, Cisco and mobile chip manufacturer, ARM. There are also a growing number of start-‐ups and open source projects such as ConDki, Riot, Onion.io or Thing Worx.
A superb example of that is IFTTT. Many people will be familiar with this service layer app for cross posting. But it does much more than that. IFTTT can also connect across devices such as Nest or Fitbit without the need for complicated programming. [ifttt.com]
WE CAN CONNECT
AN IoT FOR COWS THE ‘BOVINE WEB’ IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF WHERE THE IoT IS GOING. Cows are given heat sensors and connected via a GSM device. When the cow is ready for insemination it can notify the farmer with their location. It has increased calf production by 66%. I call it ‘The Bovine Web’. [http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/connected-cattle-how-wearables-cloud-help-farmers-get-their-cows-pregnant-1499220]
TESLA
CONNECTS THE IoT
CONNECTED VEHICLES IS ONE EXAMPLE OF THE IoT. It’s not just about Google Maps in cars. When Tesla found a soWware fault with their vehicle rather than an expensive and PR damaging recall, they simply updated the car’s operaDng system over the air.
[hcp://www.wired.com/2014/02/teslas-‐air-‐fix-‐best-‐example-‐yet-‐internet-‐things/]
APPS TO DELIVER THE SERVICE LAYER
IoT STRATEGY #4
Change
Time
Technology
Government Business Society
Back to The Law of DisrupDon … Larry Downs suggests that the gap created by the laws of disrupDon can be solved by finding the KILLER APPLICATION. Not necessarily one for an iPhone or Apple Watch, but funcDons and uses that become indespensible.
THE KILLER APP?
-‐ -‐-‐ Innovation
SO HOW WILL BRANDS DEAL WITH IT?
LET’S MAKE AN APPLE WATCH APP
YAYY!
THERE’S A DANGER THAT BRANDS WILL PUT TECHNOLOGY FIRST. If brands only see the IoT as a markeDng opportunity then we’ll end up with useless Apple Watch Apps. It’ll be just like the ‘me too’ days of the early iPhone apps.
There’s a great paper from Tim Dunn on how brands should do the Apple Watch (see the reference secDon at the end).
MANY EARLY SMARTWATCH APPS SIMPLY COPY THE SMARTPHONE VERSION. Just downsizing for a smaller screen isn’t enough. Geong my phone out my pocket is not a major problem in my life. With other smart devices use and context are very different.
DON’T JUST REPLICATE THE MOBILE EXPERIENCE
THE UBER FOR … MOST SUCCESFUL SMARTPHONE APPS COME FROM STARTUPS. Whilst we first marvelled at popping bubble wrap on an iPhone, we’ve moved way beyond that. It’s not even about UX. It’s about an app as part of a service that connects the world around us. AirBnB books more rooms than the Hilton Group. Waze is used in Brazil to avoid police roadblocks. Depop is revoluDonising the way we buy and sell vintage items. And then there’s Uber. Like it or not (and many don’t), Uber is successfully connecDng us the physical world through their app. That’s the IoT.
FOCUS ON THE PROBLEM
IoT STRATEGY #5
INNOVATION? FIRST IDENTIFY THE REAL PROBLEM
TAKE THE CONNECTED WASHING MACHINE. TexDng me to tell me the spin cycle has finished is useful. But what I’d really like is a washing machine that can dry, iron, fold the clothes and put them away in the wardrobe. BUT THAT’S NOT THE REAL PROBLEM. The challenge is washing our clothes. Why don’t we have materials that don’t need washing? Perhaps we could just shake them and the dirt and the smells just disappear?
[In other words, the IoT doesn’t solve everything].
https://vimeo.com/41363473
EXAMPLE: MEET BRAD THE TOASTER
BRAND LOOKS LIKE AN ORDINARY TOASTER. But he’s an IoT toaster (and a very anthropomorphic one, at that). It was an art school project. Rather than TweeDng to tell us the toast is ready, he does something far more useful. If he isn’t used for a while he simply puts himself up for sale on eBay – that’s one way around The Internet of Useless Things. It also highlights how licle we use the products we own. [hcp://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-‐03/18/addicted-‐toaster}
DEVELOP THE IDEA
IoT FOR CLOTHES
BRAD SHOWS HOW MANY THINGS WE DON’T USE. Here’s a problem. We all have far too many clothes. We don’t wear them enough (and clothing manufacturing is a massive drain on resources). What if our unworn clothes could offer themselves for sale, automaDcally? Maybe we could have ‘smarthangers’. If we didn’t take them out the cupboard for a while they would contact a charity who would send a bag to return the list of unwanted clothes?
Nivea Protection Wristband
SOME BRANDS GET IT
NIVEA’S CONNECTED WRIST BAND IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF BRANDS DVELOPING FOR THE IoT. This simple device was a paper wrist band (distributed via print ads) that contained a beacon device. Parents could put it on their children’s wrists and using an app, they could see where they were on the beach. If the child strayed out of range (around 40m) it set off an alarm on the phone.
Disney Magic Band
EXAMPLE: A COMPLETE IoT EXPERIENCE DISNEY’S MAGIC BAND IS A $1BN INVESTMENT IN A FRICTIONLESS EXPERIENCE. The band arrives before the park visit and does everything from accessing rides to paying in restaurants. It also has the user locaDon, so aWer ordering food, the server knows where they are siong. And of course, there’s no bill to wait for as payment is automaDcally made via the band.
DATA, DATA EVERYWHERE THE SIGNIFICANT IMPACT OF ALL THESE CONNECTED DEVICES IS DATA. It’s not enough to think of the IoT as a series of devices that can talk to each other, or people. The opportunity is understanding how we can use the vast amount of data being generated. Brands might think it’s about customer informaDon, but the key here are the anonomysied data points. The big data (if you prefer that term).
WHAT IF WE HARNESS DATA FOR GOOD?
WHAT IF WE HARNESS THAT DATA FOR GOOD? One example is with the spread of infecDous diseases, such as Ebola. The diseases spread as people travel. What if we can track the movement of mobile phones? Then we can see where the disease will next appear. It could also be used in disaster areas – by knowing how many phones were in the area before and how many have leW, then rescue services will no the number of people they are looking for.
Examples BUGGY AIR -‐ hcp://iotacademy.org/#/buggyair IOT ACADEMY -‐ hcp://iotacademy.org TELSA -‐ hcp://www.wired.com/2014/02/teslas-‐air-‐fix-‐best-‐example-‐yet-‐internet-‐things/ BOVINE WEB -‐ hcp://www.ibDmes.co.uk/connected-‐cacle-‐how-‐wearables-‐cloud-‐help-‐farmers-‐get-‐their-‐cows-‐pregnant-‐1499220 CONNECTED COWS -‐ hcp://blog.iiconsorDum.org/2015/01/staying-‐connected-‐through-‐cows.html BRAD THE TOASTER -‐ hcp://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-‐03/18/addicted-‐toaster HELLO CUBE -‐ http://www.tate.org.uk/context-‐comment/blogs/hello-‐cube-‐tate-‐modern THE TWEETING PIANO – hcps://vimeo.com/73105181 DISNEY MAGIC BAND -‐ hcp://www.wired.com/2015/03/disney-‐magicband/ NIVEA WRIST BAND -‐ hcp://www.adweek.com/adfreak/nivea-‐magazine-‐ad-‐really-‐protects-‐removable-‐bracelet-‐tracks-‐your-‐child-‐beach-‐157490 Research THE GARTNER HYPE CYCLE -‐ hcp://www.gartner.com/newsroom/id/2819918 INDUSTRY ESTIMATES FOR DEVICE ADOPTION -‐ hcp://www.ironpaper.com/webintel/arDcles/internet-‐things-‐market-‐staDsDcs-‐2015/#.VTEavZTF9kB UNUSED FITNESS BANDS -‐ hcp://www.techrepublic.com/arDcle/wearables-‐have-‐a-‐dirty-‐licle-‐secret-‐most-‐people-‐lose-‐interest/ FITNESS BANDS HAVE PEAKED -‐ hcps://wtvox.com/2015/04/report-‐smartwatch-‐ownership-‐rises-‐at-‐a-‐quick-‐pace/ SOLDIERS BECOME ATTACHED TO THEIR ROBOTS: hcp://www.washington.edu/news/2013/09/17/emoDonal-‐acachment-‐to-‐robots-‐could-‐affect-‐outcome-‐on-‐baclefield/
REFERENCES #1
Ideas & Concepts THE LONG NOSE OF INNOVATION – hcp://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2008-‐01-‐02/the-‐long-‐nose-‐of-‐innovaDonbusinessweek-‐business-‐news-‐stock-‐market-‐and-‐financial-‐advice LAWS OF DISRUPTION -‐ hcp://larrydownes.com/the-‐laws-‐of-‐disrupDon/ PREDICTING THE FUTURE OF THINGS -‐ hcp://www.oinc.com/object/me-‐zogbi-‐20140109.html SMARTWATCHES -‐ hcp://brandsandinnovaDon.com/2015/03/27/are-‐smartwatches-‐the-‐new-‐sandwich-‐toaster/ APPLE WATCH STRATEGY -‐ hcp://usblog.isobar.com/2015/03/10/apple-‐watch-‐will-‐change-‐human-‐behavior-‐2015/ THE INTERNET FRIDGE -‐ hcp://fuckyeahinternezridge.tumblr.com/ MAKER MONDAY -‐ hcp://makermondaybrum.tumblr.com/ Connec>ng the IoT IFTT – iWc.com THINGWORX -‐ hcp://www.thingworx.com/ CONTIKI -‐ hcp://www.conDki-‐os.org/ ONION.IO -‐ hcps://onion.io/ RIOT -‐ hcp://www.riot-‐os.org/ POSTSCAPES -‐ hcp://postscapes.com/internet-‐of-‐things-‐soWware-‐guide EMBED -‐ hcp://mbed.com/
REFERENCES #2